Opening Remarks of Senator Cynthia Villar
Inquiry on Senate Resolution Nos. 576
"Infestation of Coconut Trees in CALABARZON and Other Areas by Coconut Scale Insect
and Coconut Leaf Beetle
Senate
May 12, 2014

On February 6, we held a Senate inquiry on the "Plight of Filipino Coconut Farmers" in Digos City, Davao del Sur. We were able to discuss numerous concerns, complaints, issues and challenges that our coconut farmers contend with on a day-to-day basis.

Syempre iba ang mga concerns nila sa Mindanao, kaya maganda ang pagkakataon na ito para naman matutukan natin ang mga coconut farmers sa CALABARZON area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon). Bottomline is, this committee and this representation want to help coconut farmers, wherever they are in the Philippines.

Ang hearing na ito ay para ma-address ang problema nila sa bagong strain ng coconut scale insects. Alam ko na mula ng mai-report coconut pests na ito sa Philippine Coconut Authority noong 2010, ayon sa datos ng PCA mismo, mahigit 54,000 na coconut trees na sa Region IV-A o Calabarzon ang infested.

May mga presentations mamaya ang ating mga naimbitahan na mga resource persons at may mas detalyado at updated silang mga report.

Alam naman natin lahat kung gaano ka-importante ang Calabarzon--ito ang biggest coconut industry sa Luzon, accounting for almost half of the region's total coconut production. Higit sa lahat mahigit 300,000 na coconut farmers sa Calabarzon at kanilang mga pamilya ang apektado ng pagkalat ng coconut pests na mga ito. Hindi pa dyan kasama ang mga allied industries sa coconut at napakarami rin nyan--from fertilizers to furniture.

Malalaman natin sa presentasyon ngayong umaga ang extent ng problema at ang mga hakbangin na ginagawa ng gobyerno at ng iba pang stakeholders sa ilalim ng tinatawag na Scale Insect Comprehensive Action Program or SICAP para masugpo ang problema. Katulad ninyo, I am interested to learn more and to help contain this problem, once and for all.

I am very concerned about any issues and challenges affecting coconut farming, in Calabarzon and all over the country. Nais ko rin ipagdiinan ang importansya ng coconut industry sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa.

Unang-una at parati kong sinasabi na ang Pilipinas ay isang agricultural country. As such, about one-third ng ating tinatawag na arable agricultural land or around 3.5 hectares ay natataniman ng mga coconut. These represent 68 out of 79 provinces, and 1,195 out of the 1,554 municipalities in the country. Coconuts are one of the most important crops in the Philippines. The country is the second largest coconut producer in the world, accounting for 26.6% of global production. Based on those figures alone, malinaw na marami sa ating mga kababayan ang nakadepende sa coconut industry para kanilang trabaho at kabuhayan. The coconut industry provides employment to an estimated 25 million Filipinos-- that is about 40 percent of our national labor force.

Ang ating mga coconut farmers ay kinokonsiderang isa sa mga pinakamahirap, mataas ang poverty incidence among them. May nabasa akong report ng NAPC o National Anti-Poverty Commission that "Among rural poor, coconut farmers have the highest poverty incidence at 60%"; Coconut farmer's per capita income is P41/day; and that 1.8 million of the three million CCT (conditional cash transfer) beneficiaries are from coconut-producing towns. These are stark statistics that need to addressed and remedied.

Ako bilang chairperson ng Senate Committee of Agriculture and Food, ay paulit-ulit na sinasabi sa bawat pagdinig ng komite na: ako ay nandito upang protektahan ang interest ng mga magsasaka--at wala ng iba pa. On that note, simulan na natin ang hearing proper.